Assembly is a major survey of internationally acclaimed single-screen artists’ film and video. Including more than eighty artists, the list is drawn from thirty-six leading international film specialists who were invited to nominate outstanding recent works. Screenings take place at Tate Britain in the Clore Auditorium: on Sundays, feature length films are shown, and on Mondays curated programmes of shorter films are followed by discussions with invited speakers and the artists. Each weekly theme suggests a contested area of practice and prompts a dialogue that continues from one screening to the next, encouraging discussion and debate about contemporary film and video.

The development of digital technology in particular has impacted the distribution, aesthetics and accessibility of film. The popularity of artists’ film and video has surged during the last decade with screenings occurring in numerous venues from galleries to film festivals, from television to online.

The series champions internationally acclaimed single-screen work made over the last five years. Assembly is a unique opportunity to consider what is being produced here and now, throwing into relief and celebrating differences across various artists’ practices in the medium.

Assembly: A Survey of Artists’ Film and Video in Britain is curated by Stuart Comer, formerly Tate, now chief curator Media and Performance, MoMA; George Clark, Tate Modern; and Melissa Blanchflower, Tate Britain; with independent curators Simon Payne and Andrew Vallance.